A Guide for Every Occasion
This guide provides broad information for an entire discipline, corresponds with an SMU department, and follows a pre-set template.
What is a Subject Guide?
All boxes on the left side of a guide should have this style applied.
What is floating?
If a visitor only looks at this page, they should still find the most essential information about the collection.
What is the front page?
Rather than writing for everyone, each page should be written with this in mind.
What is the audience?
Instead of simply listing resources, every asset should include these to help users understand why and how to use it.
What are descriptions?
This type of guide is created for a specific course section or assignment. If people outside the class would also benefit from it, you should consider creating a different type of guide instead.
What is a Course Guide?
Every guide should have one of these to make it easier to recognize the link.
What is a friendly URL?
If you think Archival Collection guides need a new layout or design, you shouldn't just update one. Instead, you should bring the proposed change to this team so all guides can stay consistent.
Who is the LibApps Team?
This voice makes writing more direct and easier to understand than passive voice.
What is active voice?
Before creating a new link, book, or other asset, you should always do this first.
What is search the system for an existing asset?
These guides provide practical, task-based instruction for a general audience rather than a specific discipline. They are created by the LibApps Team.
What is a How To Guide?
Floating boxes should start with a heading using this style.
What is heading 2?
A guide about the DISD Desegregation Legislation collection would be this type of guide.
What is a Specific Collection Guide?
Instead of saying "library staff" throughout a page, the style guide recommends using this word.
What is "we" or "us"?
Library Search should be added to a guide as this type of asset.
What is a database?
This guide explores a subspecialty or area within a discipline, offering more detailed research support and resources than a Subject Guide.
What is a Topic Guide?
What is title case?
This is the only type of LibGuide permitted to use tabbed boxes.
What are Archival Collection Guides?
When using technical or library-specific terms, you should do this.
What is explain jargon (or avoid jargon)?
This type of link should never point to external sites.
What is a rich text link?
Unlike guides that focus on a single archival collection or library, these guides bring together resources on one subject from across all SMU Libraries Special Collections.
What is a special collections topic guide?
This is the font that should be used for all text.
What is the default font?
With 6952 views for FY26, this guide is the most viewed special collections guide.
What is the Baldwin Locomotive guide?
What name should be used on all web content when referring to the library on the Taos campus?
What is Wendorf Library?
What is a new window?